I remember exactly where I was on September 11, 2001. I can still see the faces of my first-grade students looking up at me. The morning announcements ended abruptly. We were advised that students would probably be picked up by their parents throughout the morning.
Then, the tragic news of an airplane flying into the Twin Towers. Then, over time, another. A third plane crashing into the Pentagon, and finally, a fourth plane plowing into a Pennsylvania field. Within what seemed like minutes, parents were rushing to school to sign their children out early. There sat twenty curious children, wondering why everyone was leaving class so early in the day. I decided to speak with the children about what was happening before they left. Knowing the time constraints on most working parents, I wanted to ease as many possible children’s fears as I could. I briefly explained the situation. I ended the discussion by telling them that their parents might be upset. I told them if they were calm and well-behaved it would help their parents and them. I reassured them they would be fine and we’d be back together in the morning. The next day began with further discussion. Most of the children had seen the news and needed to talk more. We did.
Compared to the fears and attacks that children experience at school today, the fears of 9/11 to children seem matchless. Years later, this plays over in my mind. In twenty-four years, the world has become increasingly unsafe for all of us.
For many students in 2001, the classroom was their only safe place. Sadly, that is no longer the case.
So, where were you on September 11, 2001? How did you feel on that day? How do you feel today?
DHHS '69 Musings Past and Present... 
On September 11, 2001, I was teaching English at Meadowlawn Middle School. That morning my students were taking state mandated reading test in the computer lab in the media center. A television near the ceiling in the far corner was tuned to a local news broadcast with the volume too low to reach me in the opposite corner as I turned on each individual computer. When I glanced as the television again, I wonder why the broadcast had switched to a disaster movie because a plane crashed into a building twice in succession. Then I heard two teachers standing below the television give audible gasps. By the time I walked to that corner, the plane hit the building three more times. I had to collect myself and get my students into their assigned seats. Fortunately, they could not see the television from the computer lab area. The rest of the day was difficult. Students could not focus on the tests.
Dealing with the aftermath of that tragedy while teaching seventh grade students proved challenging. I used that moment to ask my students to offer written responses.
Teachers do not often get the chance to realistically suggest that a student’s writing will have a large audience unless they push students to publish their work. Fortunately, Pinellas County Florida students had several vehicles from which their voices could be heard. Student work could be published in school newsletters or newspapers whose audience may be several hundred to a couple thousand. Impressions, a bimonthly county-wide magazine produced by students for students, offered an audience of forty to seventy-five thousand. The St. Petersburg Times newspaper published student work on the weekly Xpressions pages which may garner a readership of half to three quarters of a million.
When students take advantage of such opportunities, even more positive moments can occur. Audrey Clarkin, one of my seventh grade language arts students at Meadowlawn Middle School, responded to a classroom assignment to explore how she felt about the September 11th events. Her written piece was so well received by our principal that he felt compelled to read her response to the school via our morning television news program, an audience of 1300 and to the back-to-school night parent population, an audience of several hundred more. Audrey took advantage of the opportunity to submit her essay to Xpressions, the student pages of Monday’s Floridian in the St. Petersburg Times. Her essay was published on September 24th and, thus, had another audience of perhaps a half a million readers.
The next turn of events was most surprising.
A representative of Oprah Winfrey’s show called Meadowlawn’s seventh grade office on December seventh to get in touch with Audrey about being part of a segment of the December 17th show entitled, “Building Strong Family Connections.” Apparently, a researcher in search of responses to 9/11/01 found, via the internet, the SP Times Xpressions site and found Audrey’s essay. An arrangement was made to record Audrey reading part of her essay in the form of a letter to Oprah and for her family to send family photos so while the audio tape of Audrey’s reading was played, a montage of pictures of her family would be shown on the television. The text of Audrey’s reading appeared on Oprah’s web site for several years.
One might ask how much milage can someone get out of a three paragraph essay. Actually, even a litle more. Audrey and I were asked to tape a segment of PCS Journal, a Pinellas County Schools local cable television interview program with moderator, Al Ruechel, and give our views on the experience. The show aired on Tuesdays during February 2002 four times a day.
In discussions with my students, I suggested anyone or all of them might have been chosen to have an essay broadcast to millions of people across the world if they had completed the assignment and followed though with the opportunity to submit their responses to Xpressions. However, only one student of my 145 students was so motivated to both complete and submit the assignment : Audrey.
Does this experience mean that if every student completes every assignment to the best of his or her ability, that student will end up on the Oprah show? No!
However, if students take advantage of opportunities to go beyond the classroom and get their work published, good things can happen. I have had a number of students over the years who have submitted work to the Times, Impressions, or school newspapers or news letters and have had very positive responses which have led to opportunities they would not have had otherwise. One student, who had a descriptive piece about his relationship with his grandmother who had suffered a stroke published in Xpressions, received three letters (in care of the school) from complete strangers who were moved by his essay.
When students realize they have a powerful public voice and that people will respond to what they have to say, real world connections to academic classroom assignments occur. As a result, students can find a greater value in simple grammar lessons and essay assignments. When Language Arts teachers push students to publish, powerful moments can occur.
Audrey’s original essay:
At first I thought that some building had caught fire. I didn’t realize why everyone around me was reacting the way they were. Not once did the thought of “terrorist attack” occur to me. Then, as the second airplane hit the other building, a wave of disbelief overcame me. Even though the sight of the fire, smoke, and ash overwhelmed me, all I could think of was the people who started another normal day of work at the World Trade Center, only to have everything changed in an instant.
For the past week the only thing on tevevision has been images and sounds of the destruction in New York, Washington D. C., and Pennsylvania. Pictures have been replayed so many times that I can’t close my eyes without seeing them. More heartbreaking than those images are the countless stories and tears of those who are missing their loved ones, or those who already know that their loved ones did not survive this terrible tragedy.
Tonight is different. For whatever reason, my parents don’t have the television on in the background. This has given me time to think. Obviously I am not as affected by the events of Sept. 11 as others were, but I have changed.
Since that day, I’ve been thinking a lot about my family and friends. I didn’t realize how important they are to me until I saw the suffering of others who no longer have their loved ones in their lives. Many people will say that you don’t know what you have until it’s gone. But, I realize what I have before it’s lost, and I’m determined to cherish those people who are special to me every day.
Before the attack, I worried about getting new shoes, having control over the television remote, and even if we had the right flavor of Pop Tarts (brown sugar-cinnamon) in the house. Compared to children worrying if their parents are alive, parents searching around the clock for their child, and especially husbands and wives cherishing that last phone call from a spouse, my brown sugar-cinnamon Pop Tarts are nothing. I’m not saying that I will never have these little worries again; I hope I do. That would mean that things are getting back to normal, but I think that I won’t be as quick to sweat the small stuff.
This wasn’t just a building that had caught on fire. It was even far more than a terrorist attack. This unforgettable moment changed the lives of many people, all people, including me.
Audrey’s essay as printed in “Xpressions” in the St. Petersburg Times:
For the past week it seems that the only thing on television has been images and sounds of the destruction in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. Pictures that have been replayed so many times that I can’t close my eyes without seeing them. More heartbreaking than those images are the countless stories and tears of those who are missing their loved ones, or those who already know that their loved ones did not survive this terrible tragedy.
Tonight is different. For whatever reason, my parents don’t have the television on in the background. This has given me time to think. Obviously I am not as affected by the events of Sept. 11 as others were, but I have changed.
Since that day, I’ve been thinking a lot about my family and friends. I didn’t realize how important they are to me until I saw the suffering of others who no longer have their loved ones in their lives. Many people will say that you don’t know what you have until it’s gone. But, I realize what I have before it’s lost, and I’m determined to cherish those people who are special to me every day.— By AUDREY CLARKIN, 12, seventh grade, Meadowlawn Middle School, St. Petersburg
The text of Audrey’s Oprah letter:
“Since September 11th, I’ve been thinking a lot about my family and friends…I’ve realized what I have now! So I’m telling my family that I love them more often and I try to hug them as much as I can. I also stay home more on the weekends so we can spend time together and try my best not to fight with my sister as much. I feel very lucky to have my family around and I ‘m determined to cherish them every day.” — Audrey Clarkin, 12 years old
LikeLike
Hello and thank you for taking time to share your poignant memories of September 11, 2001. I will share with you that mid-way through reading, my eyes filled with tears. Your comment speaks highly of your student Audrey, but even more highly of your instincts and insight as a Middle School English Teacher. I am hopeful that you remain connected with Audrey after such a meaningful experience with her.
LikeLike